Wow Cup: Does it work?

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We all know children spill things. And they break things. So why would anyone spend $10 on a kid's drinking cup? Promoters of the "Wow Cup" claim their cup is spill-proof and unbreakable. The packaging says it's for ages 12 months and up, and the marketing makes a big deal about no leaks, no drips, no spills.

According to the commercial, "Wow Cup is the new, spill-free drink system you can gulp, guzzle or sip, and it won't spill or drip!" The makers say the cup is BPA-free, phthalate-free, and dishwasher safe. There are three components -- the cup, the screw-on lid, and a soft, silicone valve that fits inside the lid to form an automatic seal around the rim. The auto-seal function of the valve is supposed to block the liquid until you use your top lip to break the seal when you're drinking.

I took two Wow Cups to busy mom Halee Proctor to test on her children, 4-year-old Alice and 3-year-old Eric. Skeptical about the claims, Proctor opted for water rather than a colored juice that might stain her carpet. Wow Cup, by the way, is not designed for use with hot or carbonated beverages.

In our test, Alice had no problem releasing the seal to get the water, but her younger brother just couldn't get the hang of it. Not a drop of water released when he tried to drink. While the cup is designed for ages 12 months and up, we found some young children may not be able to figure it out right away. In our case, little Eric was finally able to drink from the Wow Cup after about 30 minutes of repeated unsuccessful attempts.

As for claims that the Wow Cup is "spill-free," that was our experience. We had Alice intentionally knock her cup from the dining room table to the carpeted floor. And Proctor vigorously shook the cup of water directly over our TV camera lens as we were shooting. No water came out of the cup in either instance.

Proctor says on a scale of 1 to 4, she gives Wow Cup 4 stars. Her one reservation is the $10 price tag. At the same time, she says she's still impressed enough to consider buying a couple more of the cups to add to the two I left with her. The Wow Cup is sold at a number of select retailers, including Toys R Us, Michaels, Bed Bath & Beyond and other stores that typically carry As Seen On TV products.